Stephen Kenneth Finney (31 October 1973 – 2 February 2022) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He made appearances in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for six clubs.

Playing career

Finney began his career as an apprentice with

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

, where he made his professional debut during 1991–92. After just six league appearances he moved to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in February 1993, but he failed to make the first team while at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

. In the summer of 1995, Finney moved to

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, scoring 12 times in his first season to help them to the Division Two title. Apart from a loan spell with

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

in 1997, Finney remained with Swindon until July 1998, when he moved to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. But before the 1998–99 season had finished, Finney had moved on to

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

for a short spell with the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

club. Finney spent time on trial with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

in the summer of 1999, and then dropped into non–league football with Barrow before returning to

with struggling Chester City on 18 October 1999 after sending his CV to the club. During his 14-month stint at the club, he failed to score a competitive goal and was part of the side that were relegated to the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

. In December 2000 he joined

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester, southwest of Sale, Greater Manchester, Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2021 United Kingdom ce ...

, initially on loan. He scored a hat–trick against

Whitby Town Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. Founded in 1880, Whitby are one of the oldest clubs from the Nor ...

in his third game for the club. He scored 11 goals in 24 games during his initial loan spell with the club. Following his release from Chester, he made a single cup appearance for Altrincham before his release.

Personal life and death

Following his retirement from football, Finney worked as a car salesman and business development manager. He also coached Ullswater United in the Westmorland League. He died on 2 February 2022, at the age of 48.

Honours

Swindon Town *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1995–96

References

External links

* (pre-Chester) * (Chester) {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Steve 1973 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Hexham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players National League (English football) players Preston North End F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Altrincham F.C. players